Swiss Tropicals Introduces German Breeding Rings

Swiss Tropicals is proud to introduce a new tool for aquarium-fish breeders: German Breeding Rings. Called Aufzuchtringe by the German pleco breeders who developed the invention, they are floating, egg-hatching, and fry-rearing incubators with an integrated mini-jetlifter that continuously supplies the round holding chamber with fresh water.

This side view of the large German Breeding Ring clearly shows the round floating incubation chamber, with the integrated jetlifter rising up to the chamber with a small foam block covering the intake below. An air feed is attached to the small gray barb on the white lifter tube; flow could be adjusted with an inline needle valve or gang valve (not included).

Intended to raise small batches of almost any type of fry, the rings have a bottom covered with a 30-micron nylon gauze. That means you can feed fry with Artemia nauplia (baby brine shrimp), rotifers, or copepods without flushing the live food out.

Because GBRs float on the surface of a bigger tank, they can be used in the spawning aquarium so that water quality remains much more stable and the larvae or fry do not disperse over a large area, which would make them difficult to feed adequately.

Saltwater Applications?
Usage in marine breeding and husbandry is open to experimentation. The eggs of gramma and dottyback species need to be gently tumbled if being hatched artificially, but whether or not these devices would prove effective is unknown. Swiss Tropicals would love to hear about any new applications of the rings discovered by hobbyists.

An overhead view of the large and small German Breeding Rings, showing the 30-micron mesh at the bottom of the chamber.

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About the author

Matt Pedersen is a Sr. Editor and Associate Publisher with Reef To Rainforest Media, LLC, including AMAZONAS & CORAL Magazines. Matt has kept aquariums for 35 years, has worked in most facets of the aquarium trade, is an active aquarist and fish breeder (both marine and freshwater), and was recognized with the 2009 MASNA Award as the MASNA Aquarist of the Year.